Road to Nowhere

Chapter 1: A Long Drive CARA

Passing by all these places made me realize something. This town is nothing but an endless chain of dullness. The same things over and over and over again. HhGregg. Kohl's. Olive Garden. The cemetery. Passing through this town shows you that the only thing you can do today is the same thing you did yesterday.

Mike had his hands on the wheel, focusing on the open road immensely. "This street again," I said boringly. "We've passed through this street three times already. What's wrong?"
His eyes had no emotion. No character. No image, just staring hard into the street, his hands gripping onto the wheel tightly.
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The music was blaring loudly. "Midnight. You come and pick me up, no headlights. A long drive..." Taylor Swift sang as Mike and I were driving. It was Clare's favorite song. Hearing our daughter sing along to the lyrics warmed my heart. Mike was driving, one hand on the wheel and one hand drinking out of a Gatorade bottle. I put on my sunglasses. It was sunny outside.  Almost too sunny...
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I rolled my eyes. "Mike. It's okay." I attempted to grab his right hand, but the car went over speed bump, knocking my hand away. That accident changed him, broke him. Scarred him deep into the core...
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Dark clouds soon shrouded the sunny skies, creating a dark array of sadness and despair. Rain started pouring down the windows, cars rushing down the lanes. "...Could end in burning flames or paradise..."
"Daddy I'm scared..." Clare said fearful.
"Don't worry sweetie," Mike said in a caring tone. "We'll be home soon."

The cars around them were all gone. But a few started to roll in after a few minutes. My husband kept going, putting his hands in the glove compartment looking for spare change as he saw a homeless person walking on the side. But before he can drive up to him, he looked a head of them. He ran away with an extremely scared expression, fear in his eyes. I looked back to see him running in the opposite direction. It took me a while, in fact, to realize why he was running. "What's up with him?" Mike said curiously.
"I don't know. Maybe he saw your face when he saw that you didn't have any change."
Mike chuckled. His phone then went off. He looked down, noticing that someone had texted him. Mike picked
up phone, staring directly at the device. "I don't know who this is," he said.
I didn't respond. I was looking at our daughter, sleeping soundly across the entire back seat, her brown curly hair falling on her white stuffed bear.

Mike looked confused. "Hey do you know this number?" He said as he continued to stare at his phone.
"What did the text say?"
"Watch out for the Road to Nowhere, watch out in front of you-"
I didn't have a chance to say anything back, because a rogue Tundra slammed into the side of our car, sending us flying...
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I didn't know what to say. He couldn't ever take his eyes off the road anymore when he drove. He always had his phone locked in the glove compartment because he refused to even look at it in the car. Therefore he can never look down. Never...
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I woke up at the scene of the accident, on a stretcher in the back of an ambulance. I threw open the doors, running around looking for my family. I looked everywhere, but finally found him. Mike was near the car, broken glass completely surrounding him and the shriveled up car. I ran towards him, but as I got closer I noticed someone laying across his legs. It was Clare.
I approached them, tears dripping off my face and onto the street. I dropped to the floor next to her and Mike. A giant gash spread deep into her scalp, bleeding into her hair. Blood all over her face, and on our own as well. It spread down to her bear that she still clutched tightly, soaking it to a dark red color. "She's gone," Mike said stuttering, sadness in his voice. "It's all my fault..."

I didn't have time to be shocked. I was already heartbroken. I wasn't mad at him, it was the driver of that truck's fault. But I wasn't angry. I was broken. Completely broken.

Just then, Mike's phone went off again, the device's tone hurting my ears. He took it out of his pocket, his breathing
trembling. He turned his hand to show me the screen; I noticed that his hand was shaking tremendously. The caller I.D. displayed Unkown. "I tried to warn you," the text read. "You both didn't listen, so your daughter was the price to pay. I tried to warn you. I tried to warn you..."